The Rise of Azkaban
by padfootjr24
Summary: ON HOLD Prequel to The Lord of Azkaban, detailing the seven years Harry spent on the island prison before Dumbledore arrived to 'free' him.


AN: Obviously this is the prequal for _Lord of Azkaban _and although this takes place before that fic it would be a lot better if you read that first. So if you haven't read it, PISS OFF. Just kidding, do whatever you like I don't care.

The Rise of Azkaban

By

Padfootjr24

Chapter One: The Changing Tides

Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, savior of the magical world, lay trembling on the cold stone floor with the large moleskin coat that was wrapped tightly around him offering very little in the way of protection from the unnatural chill that permeated the air. It was quite dark at the moment, which told him absolutely nothing seeing as how his eyes were nearly swollen shut completely as a result of the savage beating he had sustained just two days before. He was just lucky that the majority of his wounds had been healed, or at least mended, or else he would certainly be dead by now. It was probably no more than an hour ago that he was presented with the first meal he could remember having in at least week and it was without a doubt the most vile concoction he had ever tasted, and this was taking Polyjuice Potion and Skele-Gro into account as well.

The small plate had been slid into the room from a small opening at the bottom of the door before it was firmly slammed shut and locked once more. He had never in his life experienced such a repugnant excuse for a meal before. He couldn't see it clearly but it had the texture of cooking lard and an overpowering odor that made him think of sweaty bicicle shorts that had been left in a gym bag for a few weeks. All together, eating it wasn't terribly high up on his 'to do' list no matter how hungery he was. He had no idea what it was but had a feeling that it was some form of nutrient suppliment that prevents one from dying of both starvation and malnutrition. Taking one sniff at the dish, Harry turned his nose up at it and felt his way back to across the cell where he sagged against the wall. Starvation would more likely than not be a very unpleasent way to die but the way his life was going thus far he would probably prefer it. Unfortunately almost as soon as these thoughts came to mind a rather disgruntled house elf appeared in front of him and even before he could flinch at the sudden arrival, he found himself in a rather strong body bind. All the while grumbling about stupid wizards and undignified chores, the house elf quickly force fed him before leaving once more.

Once his bind was broken Harry began coughing uncontrolably as his body tried, unsuccessfully, to retch the disgusting substance up. This act had the unfortunent consequence of aggrivating the ribs on his right side that were more likely than not fractured. Grunting in pain with his teeth clenched tight he rolled over onto his back and just laid there as he tried to gain control his pain. At first he had no idea where he was or why he was there since he seemed to have been in a sort of daze for a short while and only had a few brief recollections regarding the last several days. The one that stood out the most was the obvious rage he remembered seeing on the faces of his friends and the ones he concidered family as well as something having to do with the Dursleys. He couldn't recall if they were angry at him or his reletives but at this point it didn't really matter much. The only thing that mattered to him was finding a way out of his current 'residence'.

Of course it would have been wise to let the swelling around his eyes go down before he began working on the door but Gryffindors aren't exactly known for their patience. All he knew was that he wanted out and he wanted out now and in his mind nothing was going to stand in the way of that goal no matter how idiotic it was to try to escape while you are nearly completely blind. Not to mention the fact that if these people were using this room as some sort of cell then they were obviously confident that one couldn't get out without using specialized magic so the idea of opening the door from the inside without a wand, or any other tool for that matter, was more than likely an excercise in futility.

He could only recall a few details of his surroundings as he was brought to his new 'home', such as rough stone walls, ceilings and floors, illuminated dimly by the foreboding flicker of burning torches. However it was that mind numbing chill that once again drew nearly all of Harry's attention. He had never once stepped inside nor had he ever heard of any descriptions of the institution itself but the obvious presence of so many Dementors left no doubt in his mind of where he was...

Azkaban.

It was mere seconds after this realization that the chill in the air became an artic blast that coursed through his veins unchecked and without restriction. With a loud gasp, Harry tried to press himself up against the wall furthest from the door while he wrapped Hagrid's coat around his body as tightly as he could. Neither action seemed to help in the least, as the Dementors drew ever closer to his position all thoughts of escape were brutally forced from his mind as his most undesirable memeries took their place. Some he would prefer to forget altogether and others he hadn't been able to recall until now.

'Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!'

'Kill the spare!'

'There's nothing you can do, Harry... Nothing... He's gone!'

'You disgust me! I can't believe I ever called the likes of you a friend! You may not have the Dark Mark but you are no better than the worst Death Eater!'

'Your parents would be ashamed of you. Its a pity you didn't die at birth, perhaps then my friends would still be alive.'

It went on and on for what seemed like an eternity. The voices of those he thought of as his family shouting at him and belittling him. Accusing him of the most repugnant of crimes, some of which it was physically impossible for him to have commited but the public had no problem what so ever believing them. It was just more 'evidence' that Harry Potter was completely insane and had to be controled.

-Six Days Before-

Harry was walking past the local park on his way back to Privet Drive after his now daily walk around the town of Little Whinging. It had become almost an afternoon ritual for him since he had returned from Hogwarts after the end of his fifth year. He would slip out of the house under his invisibility cloak to avoid the prison guards, as he refered to the Order members that watched the Dursleys' house and made sure he stayed inside at all times, and just walk around for most of the afternoon to clear his mind and get a handle on his thoughts. It didn't really matter much since he had pretty much the whole day to himself since the Dursley's took the Order's threats seriously and even refused Harry's help when he offered to clean up after meals. Like the summer before his friends were apparently forbidden from writing and as an extra bonus, this year Dumbledore had errected a new ward around the property that prevented Hedwig from leaving if she was carrying any kind message. Since they had taken their OWLS at the end of the term and had not yet signed up for classes for the following year he had no homework to keep him busy. This enforced solitude as well as Sirius' death just a month and a half before seemed to put a lot of things into perspective for him in regards to the Order and the wider Magical World in general.

Since he entered Hogwarts at the age of eleven he had pretty much been forced to face one peril after another simply because others either refused to do so or they refused to acknowledge the threat altogether. Throughout the last five years the Hogwarts professors and Ministry officals alike have basically made it a point to ignore just about every concern he and his friends had despite the fact that they were proven right just about every time. True, they have been wrong on a few details, such as the fact that they believed that it was Snape who planned on stealing the Sorcerer's Stone, but the basic plot has always proven correct. The reason for this is obviously arrogance. No doubt these people, even people as intellegent as Dumbledore, do not hold much stock in a 'child's' ability to solve some puzzle when they themselves can not.

The Order of the Phoenix seemed to operate in much the same way. They clearly had very high opinions of themselves and didn't seem to even try to hide the fact that they looked down on the 'Golden Trio' simply because of their age. If they were several years older they would be welcomed into the Order with enthusiasum and regarded as their most effective members. But that was not the case, instead they were thought of as little kids that couldn't seem to stay out of trouble.

The fact that really pissed him off was that everyone that opposed Voldemort was clearly given a choice as to whether they would fight or not, except him. Even his friends had the choice to stand by him but no one thought to ask him. Everyone just assumed he would and so he was placed under the control of an organization that he was now perfectly sure that he wanted no part of. Harry didn't know very much about the organizational side of fighting but it was obvious that the Order was horribly mismanaged. Dumbledore seemed to be the only person that held a great deal of the information they gathered, and speaking from experience, he had a tendency to keep it to himself until some disaster accured and the information was useless.

A prime example of this was his insistance that he study Occlumency under Professor Snape. A first year could figure out that those lessons were doomed to failure given the history between the two but Dumbledore refused to give his reasons. As a result Harry had no idea that Voldemort could enter his mind and influence his dreams which certainly led him to believe that his vision of Sirius being held captive in the Department of Mysteries was indeed genuine. There are many examples of such details being ignored. He found it almost laughable that he was the one that was appearently supposed to defeat Voldemort and yet Dumbledore and his precious Order have done very little to prepare him. Or his friends for that matter. In the last five years Harry, Ron and Hermione had done more to protect Hogwarts than the Ministry or any of the professors, including Dumbledore, and yet they were denied information they could possibly save their lives.

Because of the prophecy Voldemort would always come after Harry until one of them was dead and because of their aid in the past, Ron and Hermione are also obvious targets. Not to mention the fact that Ron is the son of Muggle lovers and known associates of Dumbledore and Hermione is a 'Mudblood' that seems to be more intellegent and at least equally powerful to any Pureblood in Hogwarts.

If he were one hundred percent honest with himself, Harry would acknowledge the fact that if things continue as they are for much longer he will refuse to return to Hogwarts for his sixth year altogether. Beginning his muggle education once again would no doubt cause him a great many problems since he had not been to school outside of Hogwarts in five years but he felt that it would be well worth the aggrivation if that was indeed the path he chose to follow. There were some very good people in Hogwarts, the Ministry as well as in the Order but unfortunately the vast majority of them seemed to be little more than sheep, following along almost blindly behind those in positions of power and trusting every word printed in that gossip rag that plays at being a medium for current events, The Daily Prophet. Harry found it pathetic how most seemed to think Dumbledore was infalible and could make no mistakes.

While individual wizards and witches held a great deal of power when compared to individual muggles they were far behind in almost every aspect of their society. In just about every country in western civilization a man like Cornilius Fudge would have been bounced out of office for the sole reason of putting creatures such as Dementors in the visinity of school children much less the curuption and lack of proffessional ethics he had displayed over the last year. The Daily Prophet would certainly have gone under due to the lawsuits and heavy fines that would have been imposed for printing such outright lies as if they were the truth. However, this was the magical world, not the muggle world and it was painfully obvious that honesty, integrety, and honor meant absolutely nothing to these people and would get you no where. It was actually quite pathetic that for all their power the average witch and wizard seemed almost completely incapable of rational, independent thought.

It was nealy seven in the evening when he was one street over from Privet Drive and so he cast these thoughts aside for reflection at another time. Throughout the summer thus far, Uncle Vernon had been surprisingly well behaved and for the most part he simply tried to avoid him at all costs. Despite this blessed reprieve Harry absoluted refused to let his guard down while he was in that house. While he was partially greatful to Remus, Moody, Tonks and Mr. Weasley for pressuring the man to leave him alone, he had a terrible feeling that the older man's rage would eventually overcome his fear of magic and he, Harry, would be the one to suffer due to their well intended actions.

After taking a few moments to carefully make sure no one was looking he reached into his stained, baggy shirt and removed his invisibility cloak and threw it about his shoulders. Crossing the perfectly manicured lawn as he headed towards the door, Harry didn't even bother to hold in his snort of disgust as he caught the sound of light snoring and the smell of booze in the bushes to his right. He would freely admit that, like everyone else, he was once ensnared by the image the Headmaster tried to cultivate but this was a prime example of the reasons the man no longer had his trust. Mundungus Fletcher had already failed once when it came to his duties of watching over the Dursley's house and it had almost cost the souls of both Harry and Dudley. The fact that Dumbledore had placed him here yet again, as well as the fact that he was currently sleeping in the bushes put to rest any lingering thoughts concerning the Order's competency.

Shaking his head slightly, Harry entered Number Four before moving to shrug off his cloak but suddenly froze in place as his mind tried to processess what he was seeing. He couldn't really explain it but it seemed as if his mind had completely shut down, leaving him numb and confused. Looking around at his surroundings he tried to recall where he was but the information seemed to be just out of his reach. The house, though a bit small, could prossibly be rather cozy if it were decorated properly. The fact that broken furniture, collectables as well as a large quantity of blood litter the place certainly didn't do it any favors in the beauty department. There was something rather strange about that final thought but once again he couldn't seem to grasp it.

XXX

"What is it, Albus? Are you alright?" Professor Minerva McGonagall asked with concern as the one hundred and fifty year old wizard started suddenly as if he had just been subjected to a particularly strong electric shock. The two were currently sitting in his office at Hogwarts along with professors Snape, Sprout and Flitwick as they went through the results of the OWL and NEWT examinations and prepared to send out school letters for the following term.

"Yes, my dear, I believe so." Dumbledore answered after regaining his breath. "The wards surrounding Privet Drive are fluctuating wildly but are still holding. If you will excuse me, I must get to the bottom of this." Without waiting for a response the old man threw a handful of Floo Powder into his fire place and vanished in a burst of emerald flames with Snape of all people right behind him. When they arrived at Mrs. Figg's niether man bothered to see if she was even present before storming out of the front door and making their Privet Drive two blocks down. When they arrived they didn't see anything out of the ordinary unless you count an old bum stepping out of the bushes. Snape couldn't help but sneer at the old thief, by the looks of the man he would have to guess that he had just awaken.

"What are you doing here, Sir? Is something wrong?" Dung asked in confusion as he scratched his chin.

"I'm not sure. Has there been any unusual activity today?"

"No, nothing out of the ordinary."

"Very well, we shall see if Harry could enlighten us." After trying to gain admittance the polite way several times, knocking, Snape just turned the doorknob and pushed it open, his hand hovering above his wand just in case. The sight that greeted them made all three men gasp in shock. Within the space of a second the small group had their wands clutched in their hands as they took slow and steady steps into the entry hall while Dung silently closed the door behind him. Even Dumbledore looked a little jumpy at the sight of all the blood that was apparently smeered on the walls and floor, some even making it to the ceiling. Cautiously they moved forward and Dung gasped once more as he peered into the sitting room, drawing the attention of his two companions. Dumbledore and Snape quickly followed his example as they paled considerably.

The mangled bodies of Vernon and Petunia Dursley lay motionless on the floor as Harry Potter of all people sat calmly on the couch and appeared to be lost in thought, uncaring of the gore that lay at his feet. Dumbledore tried several times to gain Harry's attention, while Dung called the Aurors, but each time he was ignored. The young man looked at him several times but refused to answer any of his questions. Under normal circumstances he would probably have used Legilimency to find the answers he sought but the scene before him as well as Harry's emotionless attitude about it told him all he needed to know. For a few brief moments they toyed with the possibility that it could have been Dudley Dursley that had commited the crime but that theory quickly left them as Snape found his lifeless body upstairs in his room. Although he would never admit it out loud, Dumbledore actually prefered it this way. With Potter out of the way Voldemort and the magical world would turn its attention back to where it truly belonged, to him. After fifty years in the limelight the idea of being regulated to a secondary position behind a child was repugnant to him. Besides, he had his own scores to settle with the self-proclaimed Dark Lord and they didn't involve a child getting in his way.

If the prophecy was indeed true, taking current events into account, it is clear that Harry may indeed kill Voldemort, but only to replace him. He had little doubt that he, himself. could eventually defeat Tom Riddle but if things go to far he could always collect young Harry from Azkaban and throw him into Voldemort's path and he would deal with whichever one survives while they are weakened. Its a reletively simple idea but one that would deal with both problems at the same time.

When the Aurors arrived moments later Dumbledore, Dung and Snape were questioned briefly before Harry was stunned, shackled and transported to the Ministry to be held until enough evidence was gathered to present to the court. The Headmaster left Privet Drive for the Burrow immediately after Harry was taken in the hopes of gathering any proof that would corroborate his growing theory that Harry's connection with Voldemort slowly turned him to he path of darkness over the last year or more since Voldemort's rebirth. He had no doubts that the Weasleys would ignore evidence that would convince the average man or woman in the hopes that he would be proven innocent if they stood by him but he was confident that they would eventually come around to his way of thinking, they always did.

Molly Weasley was suitably surprised to find Albus Dumbledore outside her kitchen door at nearly ten o'clock in the evening but with one glance at his grim features she quickly ushered him inside as she rattled off questions, voicing her concerns for various members of the Order that were out on assignments and even her two oldest boys, Bill and Charlie, who lived and worked outside the country. She spoke the two names in a harsh whisper with tears in her eyes as if she knew that something had happened to them. They do have very hazardous jobs, after all.

"I think it would be best if you were to collect the rest of your family. I'm afraid the news I bare is not good no matter how I may twist it." The old man suggested after taking several moments to asure the woman that all of her children were just fine, to the best of his knowledge. Molly didn't hesitate for a moment as she nearly flew out the kitchen door and began barking orders for everyone to gather in the kitchen. Not knowing what had their mother, or wife, so upset as well as not wanting to draw her attention to them, they quickly followed her instructions only to come up short when they noticed the man int he kitchen. While none of them voiced their concerns as Molly had they each shared the same fears. As with Molly, he was quick to reassure them that the absent members of their family were safe, even Percy, but the relief they had felt vanished almost instantly.

The six Weasleys were absolutely horrified as Dumbledore gave them the needed information, much of it was only a theory that he thought probable but he neglected to inform them of this. Molly and Ginny were gasping loudly as they sobbed while Arthur and Ron looked about ready to join them. The twins, however, were a surprise to even him. Both Fred and George were glaring at him in a manner reminisant of the portrait of Phineas Nigellus, the Black family patriarch. It was rather disconcerting really. While Ron, Ginny and their parents looked a bit lost at the moment and only paid attention to the general topic, the twins seemed quite composed and had obviously paid close attention to every word and were not pleased with the numerous holes he had left in his explainations.

'This could cause some serious problems later on." Dumbledore mused to himself as a light probe of Fred's mind showed that he was having his doubts about both the older man's motives and honesty and what one twin thought it was a safe bet the other thought the same.

"So that's why you arranged those lessons with Snape last year, because You-Know-Who could enter his mind and control him or influence his decisions?" Ginny asked curiously as she began to calm down. Now that she got that out of her system she could focus on the task at hand which was helping Harry.

"Indeed! In hindsight it would have been wise to inform him of this so that he would take the art more seriously..."

"Don't you dare try to blame that on Harry!" George nearly shouted as he jumped back to his seat. Fred followed him quickly and continued for his brother.

"You can't force two people who hate each other to work together without any explaination and expect them to get outstanding results. Harry has never done anything to that greesy git, he has only responded to the abuse that has been heaped upon by a bigoted incompotant instructor. It's nobody's fault but Snape's that he can't let go of a grudge with a man that has been dead for well over a decade." Everyone, even Dumbledore was looking at the twins in shock, not only for what they said but who they said it to. Very few people had the nerve to challenge the man in such a way and despite the situation Molly felt emensely proud at how her boys had grown up. They of course still loved their pranks but they took certain things much more seriously now and would let nothing stand in their way once they decided they wanted something.

"Now, is there anything else you needed form us?" George asked in an extremely sarcastic tone. His mother was about to repremand him but Albus answered before she could.

"Yes, actually there is. As I said, I believe Voldemort had been using his connection with Harry to influence him to a certain degree as well as placing that false vision that led him to the Ministry. What I need to know is if you noticed anything unusual about him from the time he arrived at Grimmauld Place last summer until you left Hogwarts?" The twins glanced at their family briefly before locking their eyes back on those of their former Headmaster.

"We appoligize but the shops open up in about ten hours or so, so we should be getting along if we are going to have everything ready in time. After all, we don't want to miss the early christmas shoppers this year." With this said Fred and George apperated to their shop in a small corner of Diagon Alley and put their creative minds together for any ideas incase the worst should happen.

Before anymore questions could be asked, Ginny followed her brothers' example and left the kitchen without a word. She didn't care who was asking, she wouldn't betray Harry, she owed him her life, and it was quite obvious that Dumbledore firmly believed Harry to be guilty. Ron however took a different path and told the Headmaster everything he could think of, including Harry's serious and unpredictable mood swings over the past year. He did not do this to be malicious but rather due to being rather nieve about what was going on. Dumbledore had come to the Burrow to collect evidence agianst Harry while Ron believed that he had every intention of fighting until Harry was proven innocent and set free.

While talking with the boy, Albus kept a gentle mind probe going at all times so that he could ask certain questions and get everything he needed when it was pulled to the forefront of his mind. A prime exampe of this tactic was asking about Harry's feeling about his reletives and within seconds he knew everything that Ron did about Harry's home life at Privet Drive even though that was one question he continued refusing to answer until Dumbledore used this stolen information to 'Prove' to Ron that he was already well aquainted with he situation, he just wanted the young man's opinion on the matter. That was all it took to loosen Ron's lips which was not so surprising.

For one, he believed that Dumbledore already knew these facts, and two, it was a serious boost to his ego. The fact that the 'most powerful wizard in the world' was seeking his opinions and thoughts made his estemation of his own self-worth soar to uncharted hights. After living in his brothers' shadows and then being regulated to Harry's sidekick it was a much welcomed change.

-Two Days Later-

_"Severus, you had better have a very good explaination for your recent actions" _Voldemort hissed out as the potions master kneeled to kiss the hem of his 'master's' robes. The Dark Lord is not a trusting man at all but in his position he is forced to trust some of his servents to get various jobs done and keep various secrets. Since his rebirth over a year ago Snape's loyalty has come into question on numerous occasions and the fact that he was now publicly speaking out in defense of the Potter brat had certainly sealed the man's fate in Voldemort's eyes but before the man died he wanted to see what excuse he had come up with.

"I'm standing alongside Potter to divide Dumbledore's Order, My Lord!" He answered as he stood up, taking a step back to rejoin his fellow Death Eaters. The fact that there were only eight other Death Eaters present did not sit well with him at all. Under normal circumstances he gave his reports with the entire inner circle present. The fact that most of them were absent gave him the distinct impression that Voldemort would not let him leave this meeting alive. The vast majority of the time, Death Eaters were executed before all their comrads at the end of a full meeting as a warning against cowardess and failure. Traitors, however, were always killed behind closed doors and news of the execution was rarely leaked out. In an organization run through fear you couldn't exactly advertise the fact that some may later wish to join the other side. Voldemort simply could not allow that to become a viable option for his followers and so he was quick to single out those individuals that may be wavering and dispose of them.

"Is that so? And how do you intend to do that?"

"Despite whatever evidence the Ministry has, there are many who want Potter to be innocent. At the moment the vast majority believe him to be guilty which is no big surprise considering Dumbledore is standing against him. Within the Order I have thus far convinced most of the Weasleys, Moody, McGonagall and the Auror Tonks to believe him innocent. Eventually the Order won't be capable of opperating as smoothly as it once did with such a large scale disagreement. Also, Potter's two closest friends, Granger and Weasley are also going to testify for the prosecution so there is very little doubt that he will be convicted. Under normal circumstances I doubt they would ever do such a thing but it took Dumbledore less than a full day to convince them that it was for the 'Greater Good'.

"If Potter is found guilty we could arrange another jail break and kill him then. Just one less thorn in our side. Or, we could possibly recruit him. Although he is a mere boy he has a tendency to be extremely lucky on occasion and if he took your mark we could almost garauntee that more will follow, or lose their will to fight altogether."

"I have already been down this road with Potter once before and I do not give second chances."

"Yes, My Lord, but Potter was eleven years old at the time. He had only learned of the magical world not even a year before and he was full of ridiculous ideas on what the future could hold. Now, however, he knows just how quickly the tides can change. Our entire society has turned their backs on him numerous times over the years and in just under two hours those he held closest to his heart will be testifying against him in an attempt to throw him into Azkaban. His own lawyer wants nothing to do with the case and seems content to simply get it over with as soon as possibly since he has absoutely no witnesses to call on Potter's behalf. Potter has extremely tough skin and can forgive almost anything but although he has been in the presence of Dementors before he couldn't know the real horrors that Azkaban truly holds. If he is convicted and imprisoned on that retched island those that stood against him will have much more to worry about than mere appologies should he ever escape. The look on his face as he gazed at the bodies of his reletives was not the look of a young compassionate Gryfindor, but that of a cold blooded killer." Snape explained although he exagerated quite a bit and didn't mention the fact that he doubted that Harry had it in him to kill another human being in any fashion other than self defense. Voldemort sat back on his thrown for several minutes as he gently rubbed his chin while thinking things through.

"Bella?" The snake faced lord asked his second in command curiously.

"It is possible, My Lord. The boy changed more in the ten minutes after the death of my foolish cousin than he has in the few years before that. His Cruciatus curse may not have been very powerful but it was the first time he cast it and it DID work for a brief period. There is darkness in him, and it is growing. Now if he is sent to Azkaban I would suggest holding off attacking until he has had a suitable amount of time alone with the Dementors. Let them break him for us and he will be more open to the possibility. Attacking Azkaban to get Potter would also give us the oppertunity to release your captured servents. Though most of them are fairly ignorant and serve no greater peupose than as extra bodies to throw into a fight, it will boost the moral of the other Death Eaters if we can show that even if they are captured, they would be released soon afterwards." Bellatrix answered her master after thinking for a few moments.

"But if he is found innocent we may still have a chance but we will need to act immediately, before his friends have time to win him back. He may not have spent any time in Azkaban but his friends still betrayed him. And if he refuses to join us killing him should be no big chore. After he worked so hard against him, he isn't likely to go to Dumbledore or his people for help in the near future so getting to him shouldn't be too much of a problem."

Voldemort nodded to the raven haired woman thoughtfully at he praised the fates for bringing Bella back to his side. She was strong, intellegent and had a head for strategy that could rival Dumbldore himself. She was not afriad to make sugestions or point out the holes in his plans and she could get away with this without punishment because he knew that she only commented on such things if they could turn into serious problems down the road. The vast majority of his Death Eaters were grossly incompetant and bungled their assignments on a routine basis, Bella, and Bella alone, he could count on. His big mistake was placing Lucius in charge of the raid on the Department of Mysteries in June. Had he assigned Bella to that role he had no doubt that it would have been successful and Potter and his little friends would now be dead. As he cut off his musings he focused his attention on his potions master once again as he tried to power his way through the man's mental defences. He had tried this numerous times since his rebirth but always failed to breatch. Normally hiding information from him would result in your immediate death execpt for the fact that Snape routinely doses himself with several potions to prevent information being extracted from his through forceful means. Since he is supposed to be spying on Dumbldore, a known master of Legilemency, it was the wisest course of action. Unfortunately, for Tom anyway, the potions also assure that not even Snape himself could lower his Occlumency sheilds so he was left in the very difficult position accepting everything the man said as fact or disreguarding it altogether. Not an appealing choice for a man, thing, like him.

'Just when I'm ready to kill the man, he goes ahead and makes himself useful yet again.' The Dark Lord grumbled silently to himself. Without so much as changing the expression on his face, the Dark Lord snapped his wand hand up and launched a sickly yellow curse directly at Snape's head. To give the man credit, he didn't even flinch or move his eyes from his master's gaze as the small ball of energy passed directly over his right shoulder, missing his head by mere inches, before slamming into the throat of the man behind him. The potions master mentally breathed a deep sigh of relief as his acting abilities had once more earned him more time on earth. Hearing the strangled cries and gurgling behind him, Snape's curiosity got the better of him and he turned around to see what the curse had done to the poor bastard. It was only a lifetime of sticking his face above some of the most vile concoctions ever created and his brief work in the first war that prevented him from being sick at the sight that lay before him.

Igor Karkaroff, who only returned to Voldemort's circle days before, lay flat on his back with his hands clutching at his throat while his back arched and legs thrashed about wildly. From what he could see, the curse was eating away at the flesh around his neck as if it were some kind of acid. Blood began pooling around the man's head as it ate away through the artery and began spreading up onto his face that had been revealed when his mask had fallen off due to his wld movements. Snape tried his hardest to remain impassive about the whole thing but when Karkaroff's jaw and cheek bones became visible and he still showed no sign of expiring, he felt he had to do something that would distract himself without it reflecting negetively on him, so he did the only thing he could think of. He chuckled, joining Bella who had been laughing since the curse first impacted with the former Headmaster of Durmstrang. His chuckle was light at first but soon grew louder. Everyone, even Voldemort was a little surprised by this action since the man tried to never let his emotions show to anyone although the Dark Lord certainly saw this as a very good sign. First he finds a way to divide the enemy and he shows that death no longer bothers him as it once did.

'Perhaps he may be loyal after all.' Despite this thought Tom Riddle was not about to start trusting the man with his most crucial plans but perhaps he would prove to be a greater asset now that he doesn't seem quite so squeemish. Severus Snape is far from a push over where magical dueling is concerned and he could be absolute hell on a battlefield but the effects of many of the darker curses are not images he relishes remembering.

Snape looked back down at the convulsing man and prayed to anyone listening that it was almost over. By now the curse had taked the flesh from the entire lower half of his face and was giving off the acrid oder of rotting meat. Karkaroff's eyes were wide in pain and terror though that would have been pretty hard to see since they were now blood red and it would have been a chore to merely spot the black of his pupils. Finally, after about thirty seconds that seemed like a lifetime, it was over and the man's body went limp. Snape closed his eyes just briefly as he realize how close that was to being him laying there on the floor. A position he had absolutely no intention of ever being in. He wasn't a potions master for nothing and always kept some form of poison on him at all times, cleverly disquised as buttons, cuff links and other such small inconsequencial items. If he is ever discovered he will not hesitate to use any one of them, he will not be made to suffer for that monster's amusement.

Opening his eyes once again he saw the pathetic little rat, Pettigrew, scurry in and knee before moving to dispose of the body. Snape and the other Death Eaters, except for Bella of course, breath easy once agiain as they were dismissed without being punished for some imagined transgression. As he was leaving he had to supress a shiver as he glanced over to the trail of blood left behind from where Wormtail had dragged Karkaroff off. He wasn't sure if it was the sight itself or the sounds of agony being emitted by his former colleague that got to him, or a combination of both but he did know that he would be using his pencieve a great deal in the coming days.

-End Flashback-

Over and over again past thoughts, feeliing and images blasted their way through his mind as the cold and dispair that accompanied the presence of the Dementors brutally pounded in on his senses. It began with brief flashes, bits and peices of memories from his summer holiday. Days that consisted of little more that going through his old school books and walking around town when he was able to sneak out past his guard. His mind had been in termiol since the death of Sirius Black and the solitude of the warm nights seem to help emencely though they could never block out the pain. Finding his Aunt and Uncle, slaughtered in their sitting room, seems to have 'pushed him over the edge'. It was simply one shock to many in to short a period of time for him to handle. He vaguely remembered Dumbledore showing up but he couldn't recall very much of anything for a while after that.

-Recalled Memory-

His memory became quite a bit more clear and in his surprise he briefly became numb and forgot about the vile creatures that brought these memories to the forefront of his mind as he recalled sitting in a court-room that bore stricking simularities to the one his hearing for underage magic was held the year before but with a few minor differences. Unlike his first hearing, this one seemed to be packed to capacity and numerous flashes were going off as reporters tried to push their way in different directions as they attempted to get the ideal shot. He remembered Tonks' face, as well as those of most of the Weasley's and very few others, that tried to give him confident looks but the vast majority were glaring at him with malice that seemed to flood out of their pores. He was shocked to realize that Ron and Hermione clearly belonged to the second of these two groups.

From what he could recall, the prosecution had very little evidence that he was the actual killer so they relied heavily on the testimony of Ron and Hermione as well as Remus Lupin to establish a clear motive by recounting everything they knew about his life with the Dursleys as well as his volitile temper over the last year. It was an eye opening experience to see what those close to you really thought. He found it almost laughable that Ron's anger and jealousy during their fourth year could easily be explained away as childishness once he's calmed down but if he showed similar emotions then he must be going dark.

His pathetic excuse for a trial was routinly interupted by outcries from the audience, even some on the judges panel, taking the oppertunity to verblely assault him, an act that was greatly encouraged by most of those present. Tonks, the Weasely twins and Neville Longbottom were permenently barred from the courtroom after protesting these actions, both verbally and physically when Neville landed an exellent right hook to the jaw of Auror Dawlish.

It was no surprise to anyone when his conviction was announced shortly after Dumbledore himself testified for the prosecution. It was rather pathetic how all those in the courtroom looked at the man in awe as if he were some kind of deity. An image that the old mage clearly relished. Harry had no doubt that he would have been found guilty if all they had was the Headmaster telling the court of his rage after the fight in the Department of Mysteries. Had the situation been any different Harry would have laughed as he recalled the scandalized looks on the faces of the witches and wizards as Dumbledore recounted how he systamatically dismantled his office. He made no mention of the prophecy but to Harry's shock he provided evidence that he had infact cast the Cruciatus curse. How Dumbledore had known about that Harry didn't know and he certainly didn't care but it was becoming obvious to him that the old man had more on his mind than just protecting the public from a potential Dark Lord.

It took all of ten minutes for the judges of diliberate before they handed down the sentence of life in Azkaban. It was actually both his luck and his curse that today was his sixtienth birthday. Under the age sixteen he would have been sent to another facility to be held until the age of twenty one but if he had been seventeen, recognized as an adult, he would probably have recieved the Dementors Kiss.

When the conviction and sentencing order was read aloud for the court most of those present jumped to their feet and cheered loudly. Some even took the oppertunity to discreetly send some rather nasty curses towards him but to their disappointment some form of shield charm was in place to prevent such accurances. As two burly Aurors began to roughly drag him to a nondisscript side door he could here Mrs. Weasley and Ginny crying as Ron and Hermione laughed happily and hugged each other. If he had the presence of mind at the time he would have been sick at such a display. Dumbledore had broken off from the pack to accompany the two Aurors and when one moved to rip off the large coat that Hagrid had just drapped over his shoulders the old man had surprisingly stopped him. In truth he did this not for Harry, since the coat would do him no good where he was going, but rather to pacify Hagrid to some extent. He knew that he had taken a serious hit when it came to the respect the half giant once held for him so if he could gain some of that back by showing that he took no pleasure in what he had done, despite what he truly felt, then so be it. He would need the support of the giants later on and Hagrid was the best cantidate to get it for him.

For some reason Dumbledore himself decided to accompany Harry on his final journey through the free world, though is certainly wasn't out of any desire to comfort the boy. Probably so that he could make sure the boy couldn't escape before reaching Azkaban. If he had had his way, Harry would have been shipped off to Azkaban immediately, just as Sirius was almost fifteen years before, but since he was an important part of the prosecution he had to temporarily step down as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot for the duration of the trial and his replacement, Madam Bones, would never ignore procedure no matter how guilty she believed Harry to be. Besides, the trial of Harry Potter was great publicity.

As they walked to the courtroom transportation point Dumbledore was greatly surprised at how emotionless and silent Harry had remained throughout the whole process. He showed no hint of remorse as he looked down at the bodies of his last remaining family, nor did he show pleasure. He didn't seem angry when his friends testified against him nor amused when the audience heckled him. And more disturbingly, he did not show fear at the thought of spending the rest of his life in the company of the Dementors despite being more suseptable to them than the average wizard. Albus didn't know what had happened to the boy but he was now showing the potential to be a far greater threat than Voldemort could ever have hoped to be. A truly emotionless enemy would be the most dangerous, and without a doubt, the most deadly.

He had no desire to confront the Dementors himself so he just escorted the small group up to the fortress gates before turning back to the boat to await the Aurors as they saw to it that Harry was processed. Once those heavy iron bound doors closed there was no escape for young Mr. Potter so there was no genuine reason to over see the whole procedure.

After filling out all of the paperwork and running the standard spells to ensure he had no enchanted artifacts hidden or charms in place, Harry was handed over to a few of the human prison guards that were in place to make sure everything ran smoothly. The Aurors stepped outside into the corridor as the guards led the young man through a small inconspicuous door but remained in place for several minutes as they listened to the laughing that was coming through the door. Not bothering to stiffle their chuckles, the two men left to accompany Albus back to the mainland. Technically it is their duty to report such aduse but niether man felt it was their place to break with tradition. Besides, Potter was getting exactly what he deserves.

The fridged air that seemed to sink down into his very bones was having an effect that the events of the past several days couldn't accomplish. It was pulling Harry out of the haze that had seemed to become his life. He was greatly confused by his current surroundings. The last place he without a doubt remembered being was out on a walk in Little Whinging, everything after that was blured a great deal. Almost as if he were drunk or possibly even under the influence of the Imperious curse. This fact alone put him on his guard right away but it was already to late.

"This is a special occasion, boys. What sort of welcome do you think we should give the golden boy?" A gruff voice chuckled from behind him in a deep rumbling voice. Harry spun around at the sound of the first word uttered only to be met with a large fist that connected right between his eyes. With a strangled cry Harry was thrown to the ground by the impact of the hit and he certainly wouldn't be getting up again on his own.

"Stand 'im up, fellas!" Another man ordered and through the ringing in his ears and blinding pain that seared behind his eyes he felt two men roughly pull him to his feet and held him in place. Blinking away the tears that were begining to form and trying to push back the pain and nausa that was overcoming him, he looked up as a man with dark brown hair stepped forward to stand directly in front of him. He was an inch or two shy of six foot and weighed probably one hundred and eighty pounds. His cold, steel grey eyes and slight smirk reflected the sick pleasure he took from inflicting pain onto others. After a brief moment the man placed the cigar he was smoking on a small table beside the wall before launching a rapid combination of punches and kicks that he had probably seen in some muggle movie, found it to look impressive and decided to recreate it here. It certainly didn't look as impressive as they make it look in the movies but it certainly did some damage.

Harry's nose had been broken in at least two separate places causing his eyes to swell up as a gash on his left cheek that was opened up by the man's silver ring sent a slow steady stream of blood down his face and neck and a vicious kick snapped his right knee and left it twisted at an odd angle. Harry was nearly crying in pain by the time the man stopped to catch his breath and due to the injury to his leg he was forced to lean heavily on one of the guards that was holding him up. All things concidered, he very much prefered the Cruciatus curse as opposed to this. At least with the curse he knew he would be alright again relitively soon and that helped him to concentrate through the pain to some extent and with these injuries he would have very little chance of evading these men much less escaping altogether.

"Hey, Sam?" The large beefy man to his left called out suddenly in excitement. Apparently the man that had just finished beating on him was Sam as he was the one that answered with an inquiring glance. "Take the kid, I've got an idea." 'Sam' responded without question as the other man walked over to the table and picked up his companions cigar. "Guys, hold him down!" He said with a maniacal grin as he stepped forward. The other two forced Harry to the ground, one holding his arms together above his head while Sam positioned himself at his feet.

With as much pain as he was in Harry tried to think of anything that could possibly distract him for any decent period. He briefly thought about Hogwarts, his 'friends' and even the goblins at Gringotts but he found that his anger at the world in gerneral was a much better outlet in this situation than anything else. At the moment Harry had no idea what the hell was going on, all he knew was that he was hurt, exausted and it didn't appear that this night was going to end anytime soon. Under normal circumstances he would believe that he was catured by Voldemort simply out of reflex but he got the odd feeling that the Dark Lord had very little if anything to do with his current situation so it would appear that he had some how managed to piss off yet another group of sadistic wizards which made him absolutely sick. Not about the idea itself but of the obvious fact that the rest of the magical world tolerates such barbarity while many claimed muggles to be little more than animals. He found it rather pathetic that every witch and wizard in the world is effectively a living, breathing weapon and yet the vast majority shudder and scream at the very sound of those three ridiculous sylabals.

Voldemort may be a poor twisted excuse for a human being but he is without a doubt a master showman and manipulater. He has nearly every wizard in the world fightened at the very mention of his name and could probably capture whole sections of the country without firing a single curse. But most of the problems Harry had the year before did not come from Voldemort but from the very people he should have been able to count on. All of the supposed decent wizards and witches that claimed to snub their noses at Voldemort and his goals and yet none of them were willing to stand against him. Instead they deny his return and instead call him a delusional lunatic, a spoiled, attention seeking whelp that only wished to see how much chaos he could create with his wild tales that had no basis in fact. It was sad indeed that the gossip rag that goes under the name The Daily Prophet had such a huge following and their readers seemed to believe every ludacris story they put out no matter how ridiculus.

Harry decided that the source of the vast majority of his problems stemmed from his 'saving people thing', as Hermione had named it. He couldn't remember a time that he had had a decent stretch of time where something didn't happen as a result of helping others. And what did he recieve for all of this asistance over the years, scorn, ridicule, hatred, fear and violence. He spent much of his time trying to protect the wizarding world and it was only now that he realized that perhaps they weren't worth saving after all. There is certainly individuals that he would happily protect if they need it but the society in general was doomed to failure, if not now than in the near future.

"Guys, hold him down!" These four words brought Harry out of his thoughts as the two men holding him up roughly pushed him to the ground where he was held down tightly as he lay on his back. His eyes were already swelled up pretty bad so he couldn't see much but the way his arms and legs were held down tightly didn't bode will for the future. Suddenly he felt another man's hands push his robes aside as they fumbled with his belt. All thoughts of pain rapidly vanished as he began thrashing about as he continually screamed for the man to stop. But the man continued on as if he had heard nothing Harry said and within moments Harry's pants had been pulled down to just above him knees.

"Tell me what you think of this, kid." He said as he plucked the cigar out of his mouth and brought it down.

The Aurors outside grinned to each other at the sounds of the agonized screams that came wafting in from the other room before following the corridor that led back to the main gates. When they arrived Dumbledore was sitting patiently in the small wooden boat that would take them back to the mainland.

"So what did they do to him?" The Headmaster asked curiously.

"A great deal if the boy's screams were anything to go by." One of the men aswered before his face paled as he remembered who he was with but the slight twinkle in the older man's eyes seemed to let him know that no reports would be filed on such incidents. It is only the long term inmates that recieve such a welcome after all. And it is tradition, no point in changing that now.

-End Memory-

As he recalled his trial and the parts is 'friends' played in his conviction, Harry forgot the pain of the wounds that had been left untreated, he forgot about the way his stomach was still doing summersaults as its way of protesting its demands for actual food, all he could think about was the vast swell of anger for not only those that were closest to him but the entire society as a whole. The thoughts that entered his mind just days before twisted themselves into place once more. No, the magical community did not deserve to surrvive. He wouldn't be the one to do it and he probably wouldn't take pleasure in the fact but he certainly wasn't going to risk his life to save those incompotant shortsighted assholes again. It simply took to much energy that would be better served elsewhere.

Unfortunately his elevated emotional state attracted a pack of Dementors like hyenas to a fresh kill. He only got a few short glimpses of various events before the combined power of the numerous creatures bombarded him with to much magic and the pressure rendered him unconcious.

XXX

"You are making a serious mistake, Albus! The boy could not possibly be guilty!" Snape stated through clenched teeth as he gazed across the table at his mentor. In the six days since Potter's arrest and two since being sent to Azkaban he had tried numerous times to get the old man to listen to reason but if it was against what he had already accepted as fact there was very little hope that you could get him to concider other possibilities.

"It is entirely possible, Severus. In fact it is the only thing that makes any sense. It couldn't have been Voldemort or one of his Death Eaters, the wards prevent that. That we could find, nothing in the house had been taken, this suggests that the Dursley's themselves were the targets not some interupted robbery. And finally, each of the three victems were stabbed at least twenty three times. Such an act almost always indicates that the killer was close to his victems and the act was of a very personal nature. And lets not forget that Mundungus was on guard duty and reported that Harry never left the house and no others visited. If this was indeed the case than it could not have possibly been anyone else." Shaking his head at Dumbledore's thick headedness, the potions master rose to his feet before stalking out of the office.

"Its like speaking to a brick wall" Snape muttered harshly as he wandered through the corridors of Hogwarts towards his potions lab where he immediately got to work on everything he would need to put his ambitious plan into action. They needed Potter out of Azkaban if they were to have a chance to defeat Voldemort and he would need to be at one hundred percent to do it. Unlike everyone else in the Order he knew what Gryfindor's golden boy was destined to become. It was him that had overheard the prophecy all those years ago and in turn informed the Dark Lord. It certainly wasn't one of his better moments but he has been trying to redeem himself of that action for several years now and the oppertunity to save the son of the people he condemed to their deaths seemed the perfect oppertunity. Besides, he _may_ have been wrong about the boy these past five years and this would serve as a much better appology than any words that he could convey

XXX

The Weasley household has been in a near explosive state ever since they learned of Harry's arrest but now it was far worse. The twins and Ginny were about ready to kill Ron every time he opened his mouth since it always seemed to be about how evil Harry had become and how he knew it all along but tried to change him. Hermione was spending a few nights at the Burrow and appeared to have the same outlook on the situation as Ron did which certainly didn't endear her to the other Weasley children who took every oppertunity to slip one of the twins' inventions on the pair, whether it was on their body or in their food.

Molly Weasley seemed to be crying all the time, no matter what she was doing, it was getting to the point where people were beginning to forget what she looked like without red rimmed eyes and tear streaks down her cheeks. She tried to keep order between her children but that grew increasingly difficult when Percy returned home to basicly say 'I told you so'. He blamed Harry for his split with his family a year before and the fact that he was now in prison for murder appeared to confirm everything he had tried to tell his family about 'the delinquent'. Of all the Weasleys only Ron embrassed Percy's views which earned him the increasing wrath of his siblings.

Arthur spent most of his time at the Ministry, either with his own work in the Department of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts or trying to dig up any evidence that may have been overlooked that could help Harry get a a new trail and overturn his conviction. Thus far he had come up with absolutely nothing to show for it. He was taking Harry's imprisonment at least as hard as Molly was but he was just better at hiding it. Over the years he made no secret of the fact that he concidered Harry to be his seventh son and no matter what evidence the Ministry could provide he would always stand by him to offer support where he could.

Charlie had just arrived from Romania and walked into his childhood home to be confronted with the sight of his two youngest siblings arguing in a very loud manner. Hermione was standing off to the side nodding her head in agreement to everything Ron was saying while Ginny's face was almost purple with rage. It didn't take long to figure out what they were fighting about when Hermione cut in and tried to convince her younger friend, in a logical and superior tone, that given everything they knew it was impossible for anyone else to have killed the Dursleys. Ginny didn't say another word but instead turned around and stormed up the stairs to her room and slammed the door shut.

"I can't believe this! My own sister is crushing on a murderer. Next thing you know, she'll be shagging Crabbe and Goyle in a broom closet." Ron raged and never saw the curse that struck him in the side of the head before Charlie left, intent on finding other accomidations for the duration of his stay in his native country.

XXX

It had already been two weeks since Harry Potter had been shipped off to Azkaban but the euphoria that the magical world felt for locking up such a 'dangerous lunatic' quickly wore off as various wizards and witches began to disappear or found to be murdered in the most painful ways imaginable. Florean Fortescue was dragged off from her ice cream parlor in Diagon Alley a week before and had not been heard from since. A small group of young witches happened upon the badly mutilated body of Madam Malkin in her shop, Robes for All Occasions. As a result of these attacks, and many others like them, buisness in well traveled areas had slowed to a crawl as the general masses were afraid to be caught up in such an attack. Shopping in Diagon Alley, Hogsmead and every other wizarding centers in Great Britain nearly ceased altogether. Very few shops remained open due to the decreased revenue although a few such as Flourish and Blotts and Weasley Wizard Wheezes were able to continue operating on a regular basis due to their successful mail order system.

It was no surprise, therefore, when Professor Severus Snape stepped into the Alley from the Leaky Cauldron to find the streets nearly deserted. Those few that dared venture out scurried about quickly between the shops they absolutely needed to visit before leaving once more. Never taking the time to just browse as they once did. Posters that depicted known Death Eaters were hung up on the fronts of the few shops that were either not afraid or to stupid to realise that such an action could potentially make them a target.

Despite the fact that there were no crowds to blend into the potions master was able to move about unnoticed, using the skills he had picked up over the years as both a spy and a Death Eater. When he reached his destination he shook his head in disgust at the bright orange building that had several rather flamboyant muggle neon lights blinking away, drawing the attention of anyone that may be in the area. He noticed there were no wanted posters on this particular building but he had the distinct impression that they weren't left out due to fear but rather the fact that they would take away from the 'cheerfulness' the shop projected which, despite his own feelings on the matter, was probably a smart move.

Shaking his head and sighing in resignation, he stepped through the door and was bombarded with that same awful shade of orange that nearly made him want to goudge his eyes out. Unlike every other shop he had ever been in where the products were laid out in an orderly fasion, in this shop organization seemed to be taboo. There were about two dozen uneven shelves put together in such a fashion that it could easily become a maze if you didn't pay attention to where you were going. Various products seemed to have just been thrown into different locations with no desire to arrange things as they should. You literally had to go through everything to find what you wanted, or ask one of the clerks which gave them the perfect oppertunity to make you one of their 'victims'.

Surprisingly Weasley Wizard Wheezes was actually quite busy despite the stagnant nature of the rest of the Alley with at least thirty costumers of various ages looking through the different joke products that made the Weasley twins such terrors during their Hogwarts years. Not wanting to be seen in such a place, he did have a reputation to uphold after all, he skillfully avoided the notice of Lee Jordan and one Weasley as he followed the other towards the back of the store where he appeared to be casting some charms behind several small boxes, presumably to spit out some fowl material when some unsuspecting customer picked up the packages.

Without hesistating a moment he hit the young man with a silencing charm before grabbing his wand arm with his right hand and his ear, of all things, with his left and began pulling him through the nearby doorway to the store room. He put up a fight for a brief moment before giving it up and merely followed where is ear wanted to go. Less pain that way. Once inside the store room he was released and turned around to see Snape quietly closing the door behind them. The sallow skinned professor turned back around glaring at him and with a slight flick of his wand he removed the silencing charm.

"I find it rather pathetic that an unseen wizard begins dragging you off and you don't even put up a fight. How do you expect to surviive if the Death Eaters target this shop next?" He sneered earning a rather impressive glare from the young prankster.

"Well excuse me, but only two people have ever twisted my ear like that, you and Mum, and she would feel no need or desire to be silent when she did it so that obviously narrowed down the choices of who it could be. Now what do you want?" Fred grumbled as he rubbed his sore ear. Snape smirked briefly but then his face quickly lost all emotion.

"Before we get to that I want your magically binding oath that you will tell no one of this conversation, not even your brother, and when asked about what I am about to give you, you will tell them that you yourself prepared it." Snape responded in a no nonsense tone that intrigued the younger man greatly. He thought it over for several moments before deciding that it couldn't really hurt any. The oath that he had in mind was fairly complex and would wipe his memory of such information if he chose to pass it on and didn't leave him with any obligations to do anything later on.

After the oath was offered and accepted Snape wordlessly removed a shrunken box from his pocket and handed it to the confused redhead. Fred placed the box onto a nearby work bench before removing his wand from his pocket and releasing the charms causing it to grow to four times its previous size. He released the three steel clasps and lifted the lid only to find several large vials of an unknown substance as well as one he recognized as Pepper-Up potion and an energy restorer. After examining each vial Fred looked up to give his former professor a confused look.

"The potion in the green vial is an invisibility draft, in the blue is the _Invalti Negatum,_ it will mask the magical signiture a witch or wizard gives off for about forty five minutes."

"That can't exactly be legal. If you could mask your signiture you could slip past even the Ministry's sensors with the right charms. Can I assume that this is the reason for all the secrecy." The redhead commented with a raised eyebrow.

"One of the reasons, yes. The _Invalti_ is held as a class five secret within the Department of Mysteries, not even Albus knows of its existance."

"Then how do you know about it?"

"I created it."

"Interesting! I'm sure these could come in very useful in the future but why did you include the other two, we could brew them up ourselves with no problems."

"Those two have been altered slightly to obtain maximum efficiancy in as little time possible. They are for Potter." It was like watching a Gringotts vault close the way the emotion drained for his face and eyes to be replaced with a cool, guarded expression. "I believe I know how you and your brother think better than just about anyone outside of your parents. The only thing you charish more than your ridiculous pranks is the loyalty you hold to those you concider family. Deplomacy and working through the legal system has failed, with both Albus and Fudge believing in the boy's guilt he doesn't have a chance in hell at getting a new trial. The only other option is to get him out of Azkaban through more forceful means."

"And you intend to help us?" Fred asked in a noncommiting tone. It was odd really, how much time could change. In the past he would have most likely veiwed this conversation as an attempt to trick them into getting caught in some wrong doing but now he wasn't so sure.

"I will offer what aid I can but as I stated before, not even your brother can learn of my involvement. My positions in both the Order and with the Death Eaters are to important to risk at this time, to much is at stake. Whatever you plan to do and however you plan to do it, I don't care, but take your time planning, don't simply rush into it. You should also know that the Dark Lord also plans to retrieve the boy but he plans to let him stew away in his cell for several months at least to allow the Dementors sufficiant time to ware him down so you have plenty of time." Without waiting for a response, Snape took a silver chain with a serpant pendent out from under his robes where it hung around his neck at tapped it with his wand before vanishing.

Fred sat in silence for several minutes before sighing heavily and walking to his desk. Once their he placed his left hand and his wand flat against the stone wall before whispering the same incantation that activated the Marauder's Map. The stones benieth each hand glowed slightly in hues of blues and Greens when suddenly the space in between them the wall shimmered briefly until a large safe door appeared. The process to opening the safe itself took a bit longer as it appeared to need a blood sample as well as several charms that the twins created for this exact purpose.

What was inside couldn't really be described as being valuable since the vast majority of the population wouldn't give a damn about them much less spend the money to purchase them, but for their purposes they were priceless. The first was a very large scroll that when unrolled and activated would project a three dementional representation of the fortress of Azakaban, showing in great detail each and every level. The second object was a thick leather bound notebook that laid out Auror procedures for prisoner transfers as well as giving step by step instructions on how to replicate a Minitry authrized portkey to take them to the warded stretch of beach that you must leave from to reach Azkaban. The final object looked even less important than the first two. It was merely a small peice of partchment that looked as if it had been torn from the back of a book. Written on it was the location of Portkey arrival point that all Aurors must transport to just before leaving the mainland. This point, as well as the docks from which they set out to Azkaban are heavily warded and hidden under the Fedelius charm. Fortunately their note is written in the Secret keeper's own hand, also fortunate is the fact that said Secret Keeper had no idea that the note _still_ exists.

Each of these items could land them some serious time keeping Harry company if anyone ever found out that they had them in their possession and due to the fact that the country was techniqually under a state of war he had no doubts that there would be no lenency in their sentencing. It had cost them nearly all of the profits they had earned thus far as well as calling in quite a few favors but in the end they got what they needed so they were happy regardless. After shrinking the box down once more Fred locked the safe securely before quitely leaving the back room to rejoin his brother and Lee.

XXX

"Who do we have next?" An irritable old man names Dan Wilkerson asked as he and two of his collegues were led through the twisting corridors of Azkaban. Each of the three healers were white faced and shaking slightly due to the presence of the prision's black robed guards. They didn't particulary care who the imates were but making even idol conversation was a welcome distraction while making their rounds to the various inmates that were due for a medical scan this month. It was certainly not a job that one wants to volenteer for so the mediwizards at Saint Mungos were on a rotating schedual and each doctor had to be apart of the three man team at least once a year.

"Prisoner number 374644, Harry Potter." The assistant warden Simon McKinnon answered with a sigh after consulting his clip board, seemingly uneffected by the Dementors that periodically glided past them. Wilkerson just snorted in disgust at the thought of having to see that traitor much less possibly having to treat him. If it wasn't for the magical oaths that bound him to treating all patients equally he would have happily left whatever injuries the young man had fester in the hopes that they would cause him even a fration of the pain and suffering that he rightfully deserved.

"What's wrong with him?" Wilkerson asked in an uncaring tone when the cell door opened to reveal a young man trashing about in his sleep. Such displays were a common sight in Azkaban but this seemed to be particularly intense.

"Potter seems to have particularly strong reactions from the Dementors, even more so than normal. Whatever he sees when he is asleep must be truly disturbing to cause such reactions on a daily basis." The warden answered sadly.

"Right! Lets get this over with."

XXX

Tom Marvolo Riddle, otherwise known as the Dark Lord Voldemort sat ridgedly straight on his black marble high backed throne like chair as he looked down at many of his followers enjoying themselves with one of their lastest captives, a rather attractive fourteen year old muggle girl. Or rather she was attractive until Amycus Carro got hold of her. He never could leave any of his play things intact While most men wouldn't think about touching a woman in such ways when their face was all cut up, his Death Eaters only found it to be a minor amusement and took pleasure in the pain she was obviously suffering through.

The last month had seen a florish of Death Eater activity throughout the country and so far they had been met with very little resistance from both the Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix. This was really no surprise since the Ministry was led by an idiot with no backbone but he was a little disapointed in the lack of action from the old Hogwarts Headmaster. He was privately disgruntled that he was proving to be a far less chalenging opponent that he origanally thought him to be. In other words, he was bored. He was of mixed feelings on the matter but he was actually begining to miss Potter. At least he made things interesting and put up a fight. Dumbledore just seems content to just sit back and wait while people are disappearing and being killed. He had every intention of going to Azkaban to 'collect' Potter soon but at the moment he had the Aurors off balance and he had every intention to keep it that way. Potter wasn't going anywhere.

Finally growing tired of the specticule in front of him, Voldemort raised his wand. The unknown Death Eater that was currently taking his turn was blown off of the girl with a powerful banishing charm. The man didn't have a chance as he was hurled through the air only to slam into the unforgiving stone wall with a sickening crunch before his lifeless body fell to the floor, his eyes wide in shock. With two rather convenent charms, what was left of the girl's clothing was literally burned away, earning him shieks of pain as the girl tried in vain to roll over to smother the flames only to find that she could no longer move. The other charm was a standard sleaning spell that removed all of the dirt and blood that covered her body.

Stepping down from his throne for the first time, the snake faced man slowly moved towards the young woman with his wand raised and a malicious grin on his face that showed his pointed teeth. After thinking it over for several moments he cast a series of healing spells in advance to keep her from dying which he followed with sending an ugly purple curse at her right foot. She screamed out in pain as every bone shattered into large framents, many piercing through the skin. The Death Eaters looked on in glee as the process was repeated over and over again until every bone in her waist and blow was completely destoyed.

Almost as soon as he started she had begun to plead with him to just kill her but he was having to much fun to simply end it without a proper build up to the finale. By now Voldemort's victim's face had lost all color as he eyes were clouded in pain. She had screamed he throat raw long ago and even the simply act of breathing was agonizing for her. After coming to the conclusion that she wouldn't live much longer, even with excellent medical attention, which he certainly wouldn't give her, he decided to end it and sent one final curse into her chest. The result was actually quite remarkable.

She gasped loudly as the broken bones punctured her heart and lungs as well as the skin, causing her to violently cough up vast quanities of blood until she let out her last breath in a ragged sigh as her body relaxed and the final dim flicker of light in her eyes died out. Even a few of the watching Death Eaters Looked a sick at the display. Without pausing for a moment, Voldemort called Wormtail forward to dispose of the body in a rather public display. Peter bowed and scurried away like the coward he is but as he took one look at the body on the floor he almost lost control over his own bodily functions. It was a rather horrific sight after all. While the vast majority of the Death Eaters loved every minute of the display there was one individual that certainly did not and that was the conscious presence of Harry Potter.

Harry had seen many things over the years due to his connection with the man that had killed his parents because of the damned scar on his forehead but to his dismay either the presense of the Dementors, the atmoshpere of the prison or a combination of the two seemed to have opened that connection almost fully, at least from his end. He was not sure if Voldemort could see through his eyes as well or if he was just blocking it which he would not doubt in the least considering there would be very little in the way of important information by spying on Harry in his prison cell.

It was not long after he first arrived on Azkaban when these visions had started and they rarely seemed to stop. He's seen people raped, tortured and or killed. Most importantly, he has seen plans as they are discussed and carried out but he is unable to warn anyone about them. Despite what they had done to him he certainly didn't want all those people to die, at least he didn't think he did. It was literally like being locked inside of a never ending nightmare with no chance at escape and no hope of rescue. In an odd sort of way these visions were actually a twisted form of release for when he had them he could no longer feel the presence of the Dementors though when the vision ended and the cold returned it merely gave the foul creatures more of a hold on him and much more vived tortures.

Suddenly his eyes snapped open and he once more found himself in the dark stone box that now served as his home to find several dark figures standing around him. It took about a fraction of a second to realise that these were humans, not Dementors and the first thought that came to his mind was that Voldemort had finally come for him. No matter what betrayals and horrors he had faced in the last month, he would never join with the man that could be directly linked to all the hardships he had faced in his life. He would never join with the man that murdered his parents and was directly responsible for Sirius' death as well but he certainly wasn't going to allow himself to be killed, lying on the floor like an ailing pet.

Giving no warning to those around him, Harry surged to his feet with more energy than he had felt in over a month and collided with the man nearest to him sending them both tumbling to the floor where his attacker smashed his head into the wall. In no time at all he was standing once more, wildly throwing his fists at anything within range and having no quams about kicking them when they were down. Hate and fear pumping savagely through his veins. It appeared that they hadn't expected much trouble from him since they obviously weren't ready for a fight. He vaguely saw several flashes of red light but he didn't pay them much attention. 

He had one of the men backed up against the wall with his hands closed tightly around his throat when a pair of well muscled arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders, pulling him away. Without thinking he lowered his head and with a light growl he bit into the man until his teeth reached the bone. Surprisingly the man didn't release his hold, only grunted in pain as he turned slightly, giving his companions a clear shot at Harry's unprotected chest.

XXX

"Great Merlin!" Jake Newell sighed in relief as he lowered Harry Potter's unconscious body to the floor before taking his wand from his pocket and casting several cleaning and healing charms on his bleeding arm as his boss and the one healer left saw to the others. It had been quite some time since a prisoner was in any state to put up a fight like that and he was mentally chastising himself for getting complacent. The whole altercation lasted roughly thirty seconds but Potter was still able to do a great deal of damage. The boy spent the majority of his time seemingly locked in some nightmare, it is quite possible that he didn't even know he was truly awake or he could be completely insane already and believes his nightmares are reality, who knows.

"This doesn't make any sense!" One of the healers mumbled as he began scanning Potter after he regain consciousness. "His adrenaline levels are still off the charts."

"The way he was moving I'm not surprised, what's your point?" Simon asked in confusion causing the healer to shake his head in disgust at how little education magical children were given on the human body.

"The boy was hit with six stunning spells and kept going, he only went down after you hit him with four more in rapid succession. After that his heart should be ready to shut down completely but instead its still going strong, infact, it would be a good idea to get out of here because it is entirely possible that he could wake up at any time and I don't feel like finding out if his mood has improved."

"Very well, Jake, could you get the shackles and make sure he is moved downstairs as soon as possible..."

"Sir, he's only a kid!"

"I know, but the rules apply to every prisoner here, no matter the age." By the tone of his voice it was clear that Simon didn't like the idea much either. The shackles themselves supresses a persons magical power as well as limits their physical energy but despite this Jake decided to cast several sleeping charms on the boy before moving him down to the lower levels. He had no wish to find out just how much energy Potter had should he wake up on the way.

He and two others, Hobbs and McGreggor, each shuddered slightly as they decended the steps, with Harry levitated between them, into the bowels of the fortress where the Dementors constantly patroled each corridor. There would be no respite from their powers down here. Despite what he had seen he was a little startled when Harry began to stir once more. Urging his compainions on, he quickened the pace almost to a run until the reach the temporary holding cell that was assigned. Jake levitated him inside and slammed the door shut quickly, not wanting to risk taking the shackles of before hand. Casting a series of spells, he revealed a small opening in the center of the door that was used to periodically cheak on the prisoners. Using this he cast the neccessary charms to unlock the shackles before summoning them.

"Why are you so jumpy? With those shackles Dumbledore himself would be as harmless as a first year." Hobbs laughed loudly.

"If you had seen what he did just half an hour ago you wouldn't want to test that theory either." Jake snapped before heading upstairs to have a drink. A large drink and several of them.

XXX

Slowly, the haze began to clear from his mind as he tried to shake off the incredibly short but strangly peaceful sleep he had just had. He briefly forgot about his present situation until he rolled over onto his back and sat up to look around. He didn't even have time to lose hope when the Dementors once again impacted his mind, only much more powerful than before. He brough his knees up to his chest and hugged them tightly as his body began to shake violently as if he were being held under the Cruciatus curse. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, images, sounds and feeling, passing so fast that he couldn't seem to latch onto a single one but their overall message was abundantly clear. Pain, death, anger, hate and betrayal all fought for dominance as he tried to fight the overpowering urge to simply beat his head into the wall in an attempt to make it all stop.

'They will come! They will come! They will come!' He thought to himself over and over again as he rocked back and forth. Despite whatever thoughts and feeling he had on the matter of the Dursley's murder, his trial, imprisonment and his friends' belief in his guilt, he still believed that soon they would realise their mistake and he would be free once more. He didn't think he could ever trust or even want to see them again but he would be free, away from the Dementors, and that was all that mattered. But the longer he was locked inside the more that hope began to dim and he didn't know how long he could last until he was truly as insane as everyone believed him to be.

End of Part One.

Obviously, this first chapter isn't as good as I wanted it to be but I promise that it will get better. If you like or hate leave a review and tell me what you think.


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